I had read the reviews from TripAdvisor before going to Bali and was inspired to do the class even though I am not the worlds biggest foodie. I am so glad that I did.

Visiting the market was not just about identifying spices, vegetables and fruit, but also to share an insight into offerings and even how to get into the fruit without getting it all over yourself!

There was a little bit of discussion about the rice paddies but I found that other tours gave a more detailed explanation, particularly the Bali Nature Herbal Walk, but the information was complimentary. We also talked about traditional compounds, their layout and composition. Again, other tours covered this, such as the Eco Bali Cycling Tour but it was good to see it from another perspective.

But the real experience was the cooking! This was no cooking demonstration, everyone had a part to play - chopping, grinding, mixing, cooking and tasting. I'm no expert but they do get you to work to your skill and interest level. We even had two children on the course and they were given tasks such as stirring and grinding. It really is a class for everyone.

The culmination of our endeavours was a feast - and it was worth it! I couldn't agree more that this was the best Balinese food I had tasted and to know that I was a part of it made it taste even better!

One word of warning though, they do run on Bali time. A few of us were a bit worried when the pick up was late and even asked our hotels to call to confirm. We needn't have feared though as they did arrive. Of course, by running on Bali time they were patient to take us through everything and didn't rush us out the door to get us back to our hotel by 1:30pm. We got back around 3pm. So if you book the morning trip, expect to be out most of the day.

Wayan, Puspa and the other members of the team all made us feel extremely welcome. It was a fantastic experience and I thoroughly recommend it!